This invention relates to an arrangement for the transport of trays and the like and, more precisely, relates to an arrangement for transporting trays and the like in one direction or the other between a tray trolley and a conveying path.
It is previously known at the transport of trays in the direction from the tray trolley to the conveying path to use a device, which comprises a pair of mutually spaced posts and to attach to the post surfaces facing toward each other a carrying strip, which strips are located at the same height on the posts and can be moved synchronously upward and downward and be adjusted to different levels. In the space between the posts and the carrying strips a horizontal conveyor with a length sufficient to permit the conveyor to be both within said space and to reach into a tray trolley is movable both horizontally and vertically for transporting trays from the tray trolley to said pair of carrying strips, which thereafter transport trays upward to a place of delivery or a belt conveyor of higher location. It is, thus, necessary for every tray or pair of trays to lower the pair of carrying strips to the level of the horizontal conveyor for receiving trays, whereafter the strips must transport the tray or tray pair upward to the place of delivery. This requires a very complicated drive means for correctly adjusting the pair of carrying strips to different receiving levels and, besides, the time required for moving the carrying strips is longer than desirable. It is also known, instead of one pair of carrying strips to attach a great number of carrying strips to vertical endless chains in such a manner, that the distance between the carrying strips is adjusted so that on each strip pair a single tray is received. The trays vertically stacked in the tray trolley then all at one time are moved over to the carrying strip pairs on the vertical chains and transported gradually to the place of delivery. This method proceeds rather quickly, but the arrangement is adapted for emptying only, not for filling a tray trolley.